What you see is what you get.

25 April 2017

Reflections - JQ17

JQ17 - Does your faith allow you to accept what you don't always understand?

Hmmm. I must admit that this one has always been a bit of a churn for me. What is faith? What is belief? Without the colour of institution or tradition? When I looked at the core meaning of the words in definition, turns out they are slightly different views with very different expressions. Truth. Let's go on a little word trip, so I can expound on what I mean...

faith(n.) - a complete trust or confidence in someone or something trust (n.) - reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc, of a person or thing reliance (n.) - confidence confidence (n.) - belief in the powers, trustworthiness or reliability of a person or thing

I could drill down further, and I am sure it would circle back upon itself to the start point... though the divergences one could travel, through the meanings, would make for an interesting sidebar meander.

Back to my thesis. As I ponder and consider the depth of the meaning of the words themselves, a certain energy emerges. One passive, one active. One giving over personal power, the other resting in it. One turning over to another, the other recognizing self state of being.

The bridge between the two is confidence, I suppose allowing an individual to actively take up both expressions.

I personally would rather take up the energy of belief. To accept is to actively choose, with sovereign authority; there is an interactive play in belief, a sense of co-creation. Something I subscribe to.

My experience with faith is somewhat tattered and betrayed. My belief, however, has been enduring through many a tribulation. So, I suppose in order to answer this question I shall need to swap out the word 'faith' for 'belief.' [If I were to remain my energy in the term 'faith' as I've described it above, this would be a very short journal entry - the answer is 'no.']

I believe in the power of now. I believe in this endless, eternal universe and the synchronicities that abound through divine expressions. I believe in connection and interconnection, that none can do without the any. I believe love is the universal currency, limitless. I know I do not understand many things -- things are not always as they seem, and so - and my belief in the higher, greater good and the eternal streams of existence and expression allows acceptance of that which I do not (yet) understand.

Eventually that which is not understood comes to light with clarity, even grace. That, I believe without hesitation; I've experienced it, I experience it. That is the eternal thread of life.

In my personal view, faith can become a rigid dictate, vastly influenced by external opinion; belief is dynamic and evolving and pliant to those open-minded and willing to examine with forward thought and consideration.

I recognize many will take issue with the point of view expressed. That's okay, I believe they are privileged with such option!

And, so. Yes. My belief allows me to accept what I don't always understand; I believe that truth and understanding is always in motion, revelatory as I, and when I, can comprehend it. And, life is. Life is...

"Man is made by his belief; as he believes, so he is." ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe~